Monitor Audio Gold 300 (5G) vs Monitor Audio Platinum 200 II

[Vhond]

Besides of the price difference (and the technical differences such as frequency range, Gold starting from 30 Hz and going up to 'only' 50 kHz versus Platinum from 35 Hz to 100 kHz), somebody heard them side by side?

 

Is there a big difference in how they sound (using good equipment/amplifying)?

And what about room sensitivity/room control?

[Vhond]

So nobody has heard these speakers side by side?

[Vhond]

Still no one to compare these by own listening experience??

[botrytis]

I only have heard them separately, not together so I can't say.

[dericchan1]

I previously owned the silver 300 6g for about 3-4 years (only traded in last week). I have had an audition in a listening room for about a couple of hours on the gold 300 5G back in August. I thought they sounded very similar to my silver 300 but simply up a notch in sound quality especially in the mids and highs.

 

A deal came up for a pair of PL200ii and I made the deposit on them without ever auditioning them. They are still in transit (hopefully will have them next week). Will definitely share my impressions on the pl200ii in comparison with my memories on the gold 300 5G

 

rest of my gear -

IFI neo idsd dac

Schiit Freya +

Nuprime Evolution STA power amp

PL200ii 

2 x PSA S15 subwoofers

 

Deric

[Vhond]

@dericchan1: Very curious about your impressions: keep us posted👍

[dericchan1]

5 hours ago, Vhond said:

@dericchan1: Very curious about your impressions: keep us posted👍

I am super excited as well (sleepless nights lol). Confirmed delivery on Thursday afternoon.  Both the speakers and the power amp are brand new so will probably need some time to burn in if you believe in such a thing. 

 

But I will be able to share my initial impression shortly.

[Vhond]

I can't wait for your sharings 😉

 

Nice power amp by the way (also curious about your experiences), what did you have before?

[dericchan1]

4 hours ago, Vhond said:

I can't wait for your sharings 😉

 

Nice power amp by the way (also curious about your experiences), what did you have before?

For power amp, I used to have the Roksan K3 power amp which is designed to work with monitor audio speakers. 140wpc @8ohm, 220wpc @4ohm. Just figure the PL200ii would benefit from a more powerful amp.

 

 

[dericchan1]

Received just 5 minutes ago!!!

 

I don't know how it sound yet, I just turned it on to make sure they had sound now heading back to work. 😂 

 

 

 

 

[feelingears]

Wow, this post caught my eye, and is very cool, @dericchan1! 

 

My $0.02 suggestion as a Monitor Audio Silver 500 (6G) owner (and I see you had Monitors before):

• The owner's manual of my speakers says they need time to break in and even suggests wiring one channel out of phase and placing them right in front of each other for a while.
• Seeing your floor, consider trying Iso-Acoustics feet instead of Monitor's own feet. On my hardwood, that made the difference between "technically good" sound and "WOW, emotionally involving MUSIC." The midrange really sang when the right footers were in place (I tried spikes, the rubber feet themselves, and ISO-Acoustics Gaia feet. I wouldn't listen in my room without the Gaia feet.

As for break-in, my experience suggests this is at least a few weeks, 24/7. Before that, literally every recording sounded the "same." Literally. Madonna, Mozart, Metallica - all as if they came from the same recording space. Insane, and heartbreaking. We went away on holiday for a week and I left my system on the whole time, remoting into my music server to change genres of playlists so there was sonic variety, plus pink noise. We returned and...bliss, just awesome sonic bliss. Monitors are so under-rated and such outstanding values for the money. 

 

Good luck, hope you enjoy yours!

[dericchan1]

24 minutes ago, feelingears said:

Wow, this post caught my eye, and is very cool, @dericchan1! 

 

My $0.02 suggestion as a Monitor Audio Silver 500 (6G) owner (and I see you had Monitors before):

• The owner's manual of my speakers says they need time to break in and even suggests wiring one channel out of phase and placing them right in front of each other for a while.
• Seeing your floor, consider trying Iso-Acoustics feet instead of Monitor's own feet. On my hardwood, that made the difference between "technically good" sound and "WOW, emotionally involving MUSIC." The midrange really sang when the right footers were in place (I tried spikes, the rubber feet themselves, and ISO-Acoustics Gaia feet. I wouldn't listen in my room without the Gaia feet.

As for break-in, my experience suggests this is at least a few weeks, 24/7. Before that, literally every recording sounded the "same." Literally. Madonna, Mozart, Metallica - all as if they came from the same recording space. Insane, and heartbreaking. We went away on holiday for a week and I left my system on the whole time, remoting into my music server to change genres of playlists so there was sonic variety, plus pink noise. We returned and...bliss, just awesome sonic bliss. Monitors are so under-rated and such outstanding values for the money. 

 

Good luck, hope you enjoy yours!

Thanks for all the tips and insights. As a MA Silver 300 6G owner for a few years, I absolutely love the “house sound” (which was the biggest reason for my upgrade to the platinum) and agreed MA as a brand is so underrated hence presents great value!!!

 

both my power amplifier and the speakers are brand new so will likely take some time for break in. But will report back on initial impression.

 

btw my basement are laminated floors so not necessarily hardwood. But I do plan on trying the provided spikes 

 

cheers

 

Deric

 

 

[feelingears]

Incidentally, my 25w Pass amp is plenty for my speakers. or rather Monitor speakers are fine for a 25w amp. But I don’t do HT, just music. 
 

 

[dericchan1]

2 minutes ago, feelingears said:

Incidentally, my 25w Pass amp is plenty for my speakers. or rather Monitor speakers are fine for a 25w amp. But I don’t do HT, just music. 
 

 

Yes my silver were fairly easy to drive. The Roksan K3 was more than adequate to drive them. 

i am using the speakers for both 2.2 music and 11.2 HT

[dericchan1]

6 hours ago, feelingears said:

Incidentally, my 25w Pass amp is plenty for my speakers. or rather Monitor speakers are fine for a 25w amp. But I don’t do HT, just music. 
 

 

Hello, question on the isoacoustic Gaia feet. Will they actually support the weight of the speaker? The PL200ii is about 80lbs each.

 

cheers

[grubble]

You would need the GAIA II’s which will support the weight of your speakers. The III’s support less weight and the GAIA I’s support even heavier speakers. But get the ones which are recommended for the right weight range of your speakers for best results.

[Vhond]

12 hours ago, dericchan1 said:

Received just 5 minutes ago!!!

 

I don't know how it sound yet, I just turned it on to make sure they had sound now heading back to work. 😂 

 

 

 

 

Nice to see. You have enough space behind them (needed for better playback of the lower frequencies)

[dericchan1]

3 hours ago, Vhond said:

Nice to see. You have enough space behind them (needed for better playback of the lower frequencies)

Yes, I have pulled them out 5ft from the front wall (manual actually recommended 18 - 24 inches only), 3ft from the side wall, distance between speakers 7ft and distance between speaker to listening position 7ft.

 

The room is 13ft x 32ft. Here are more pictures of the room.

 

 

[feelingears]

Wow, what a room! The only thing you're missing is a sofa table behind the sofa! ha ha ha

 

I have my Monitors out further than they recommend as well, but I also found they were a bit trickier to set up compared to my previous PSB speakers because I have some unusual bass issues with my config. You've got it easy! lol

[dericchan1]

51 minutes ago, feelingears said:

Wow, what a room! The only thing you're missing is a sofa table behind the sofa! ha ha ha

 

I have my Monitors out further than they recommend as well, but I also found they were a bit trickier to set up compared to my previous PSB speakers because I have some unusual bass issues with my config. You've got it easy! lol

Yes, wife and kids have been complaining that I removed the coffee table in front of the sofa!!! 😂 

 

I sure need a sofa table behind the sofa!!!

 

cheers

 

Deric

[dericchan1]

So I managed to listen to a few vocal jazz tracks late last night. Again, the amplifier and the speakers are brand new so I plan not to provide initial impressions until I let the system play for a few nights.

 

Hints - these are definitely keepers for at least the next 10 years. And sq difference between 6G silver vs 5G gold are much closer than sq difference between 5G gold and the platinum. 

[Vhond]

23 hours ago, dericchan1 said:

Yes, I have pulled them out 5ft from the front wall (manual actually recommended 18 - 24 inches only), 3ft from the side wall, distance between speakers 7ft and distance between speaker to listening position 7ft.

 

The room is 13ft x 32ft. Here are more pictures of the room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18 till 24 inches is way too little distance from the wall (from my experience).

Did you notice much difference between the distance to the back wall talking about the Platinums 200 or the Gold 300 (in other words are the Platinums or Golds less sensitive for placing against the back wall)??

[dericchan1]

54 minutes ago, Vhond said:

18 till 24 inches is way too little distance from the wall (from my experience).

Did you notice much difference between the distance to the back wall talking about the Platinums 200 or the Gold 300 (in other words are the Platinums or Golds less sensitive for placing against the back wall)??

The recommended distance from the front wall for Gold 300 5G is the same 18”-24” as per the product manual so I assume they would be the same as the platinum when it comes to sensitivity

[Vhond]

For the Gold it's 12-18 inch (according to the manual, page 2), but what are your experiences?

 

Are the Golds less sensitive for placing nearer to the back wall??

[dericchan1]

 

1 minute ago, Vhond said:

For the Gold it's 12-18 inch (according to the manual, page 2), but what are your experiences?

 

Are the Golds less sensitive for placing nearer to the back wall??

I never owned the gold so I would not know. The store I auditioned the gold 300 had them maybe 3” from the wall and they sounded fine.